New ENPH Director appointed

Dr. Charles McNelis, Professor of Classics, will be the next Director of the Master of Arts Program in Engaged and Public Humanities. McNelis’s role as Director began in early September, following the passing of prior Director, Dr. Ricardo Ortiz.

Professor McNelis, specializes in Greek and Latin literature with a strong interest in the diachronic reception of ancient ideas across various periods. His research proposes new links within and between ancient literary genres, with a focus on epic poetry. He has written many articles, and two books on the Latin epic poet Statius explicate the poems’ treatment of myth in relation to themes of power, gender, and sexuality.  Together with Alexander Sens, he has also written a book on the Greek poet Lycophron, whose work provides crucial insights into centrality of the doomed prophet Cassandra within ancient conceptions of poetic and female agency and the power of speech. He has taught at Georgetown for 23 years and has been involved in both undergraduate and graduate Liberal Studies through the SCS for much of that time; since 2022, he has been the Faculty Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies Program. Read more about Dr. McNelis at his profile here.